Top Law Schools

I really appreciated these threads last year, so here is mine. Again, I am only a 1L...I chose BLS in the end over Cardozo with $$, GMU with $, and Miami with $$.
Please, no hateful posts.

Please, no hateful posts.

What are you anticipating?

awesomepossum wrote:

Please, no hateful posts.

What are you anticipating?

JDU pouncing...
I have no delusions about BLS being a T2 in a very crowded market, but all those posts that say you are screwed by just attending BLS and 'Dozo are incorrect. It is more difficult to get a job from here in the best of times than Fordham and t-14, but its still doable.

dreman510 wrote:

awesomepossum wrote:

Please, no hateful posts.

What are you anticipating?

JDU pouncing...
I have no delusions about BLS being a T2 in a very crowded market, but all those posts that say you are screwed by just attending BLS and 'Dozo are incorrect. It is more difficult to get a job from here in the best of times than Fordham and t-14, but its still doable.

what about in these times? what is doable?

Why did you chose Brooklyn over Cardozo?

awesomepossum wrote:

dreman510 wrote:

awesomepossum wrote:

Please, no hateful posts.

What are you anticipating?

JDU pouncing...
I have no delusions about BLS being a T2 in a very crowded market, but all those posts that say you are screwed by just attending BLS and 'Dozo are incorrect. It is more difficult to get a job from here in the best of times than Fordham and t-14, but its still doable.

what about in these times? what is doable?

Im a big fan of your awesome, but are you just asking these questions for kicks?
To answer, Obviously its harder now-I know NYU 3L's without jobs. I do know a bunch of 2L's in BLS with callbacks...but they did pretty well.

chewdak wrote:Why did you chose Brooklyn over Cardozo?

1)A big difference in scholarship. I spoke to many attorneys in the area, ranging from V100 to 5 person firms, and they all said that the prestige difference is negligible.
2) BLS has a lot of clinics and extern/internship opportunities, and is right by a lot of different courthouses.

dreman510 wrote: Im a big fan of your awesome, but are you just asking these questions for kicks?
To answer, Obviously its harder now-I know NYU 3L's without jobs. I do know a bunch of 2L's in BLS with callbacks...but they did pretty well.

no. I'm actually pretty serious. It's been tough all over even in top ten schools. That's why I'm curious if you think it's 'doable' right now or what you even mean by doable. Admittedly it's tough to know this if you're a 1L. When I was a 1L I was pretty much totally out of the loop except for hearing the rumors running around.

awesomepossum wrote:

dreman510 wrote: Im a big fan of your awesome, but are you just asking these questions for kicks?
To answer, Obviously its harder now-I know NYU 3L's without jobs. I do know a bunch of 2L's in BLS with callbacks...but they did pretty well.

no. I'm actually pretty serious. It's been tough all over even in top ten schools. That's why I'm curious if you think it's 'doable' right now or what you even mean by doable. Admittedly it's tough to know this if you're a 1L. When I was a 1L I was pretty much totally out of the loop except for hearing the rumors running around.

I do have a bunch of upper class friends, so I know a bit. I was saying it was doable in a normal economy, because thats what im hoping it will be by the time im looking, and especially by the time 0L's who are reading this thread are looking. Its not looking great for 2L's and 3L's in BLS, but I know some of them are getting jobs. Again, its all relative to the situation.

Can you give me an idea of your numbers/scholly offers? Applying to BLS, among others, this cycle. Also...random but important, where are you living? I've heard a lot about their dorms and, if I remember reading this correctly, they're actually moderately priced considering the decent area of BK they are in...Thanks.

EDIT: ha...just clicked on your profile and answered the bulk of my post...let me know about the living situation though, if you have some insight. Thanks. (living nyc now, so I know the area well. just wondering about the campus housing.)

hank44 wrote:Can you give me an idea of your numbers/scholly offers? Applying to BLS, among others, this cycle. Also...random but important, where are you living? I've heard a lot about their dorms and, if I remember reading this correctly, they're actually moderately priced considering the decent area of BK they are in...Thanks.

My numbers and scholly offers are in my profile.
I dont live on campus, but that is for personal reasons. I DO recommend campus housing-it is beautiful and reasonably priced, especially for this area, which is really expensive. People do live in lower Manhattan (Village, Financial District, etc), or even midtown, which are 10-20 min commutes. This could be more reasonable than campus housing when adding roommates. Also, Park Slope/Cobble Hill areas are also close and really nice, and can be cheaper with roommates. The new apartment building, Feil Hall, is over 20 stories and has beautiful furnished apartments.

Dreman- nice and excellent scholarship. Congrats, and I'm slightly jealous (I'm paying full sticker.) FTR, your numbers are quite similar to mine (your GPA is slightly higher.) I'm a big fan of "Taking Questions" threads, and I will watch over your thread.

OperaSoprano wrote:Dreman- nice and excellent scholarship. Congrats, and I'm slightly jealous (I'm paying full sticker.) FTR, your numbers are quite similar to mine (your GPA is slightly higher.) I'm a big fan of "Taking Questions" threads, and I will watch over your thread.

Thanks Opera! I get jealous everyday when I pass the Fordham subway stop, and I realize I still have another 25 min to go...

dreman510 wrote:

OperaSoprano wrote:Dreman- nice and excellent scholarship. Congrats, and I'm slightly jealous (I'm paying full sticker.) FTR, your numbers are quite similar to mine (your GPA is slightly higher.) I'm a big fan of "Taking Questions" threads, and I will watch over your thread.

Thanks Opera! I get jealous everyday when I pass the Fordham subway stop, and I realize I still have another 25 min to go...

I think I'll start to be jealous of you when I get my first student loan bill!

Where do you live, though? Please don't say someplace ridiculous (for a BLS student) like Morningside Heights.

Why BLS over St. John's?

groundkontrol wrote:Why BLS over St. John's?

First of all, I got a stipend from BLS, and not St Johns, so it was a clear choice, as BLS is ranked higher anyway.
Second, even if I received a little less from BLS, my impression (from speaking to attorneys) is that BLS is more prestigious than St Johns-not by a huge amount, but still different.

dreman510 wrote:

groundkontrol wrote:Why BLS over St. John's?

First of all, I got a stipend from BLS, and not St Johns, so it was a clear choice, as BLS is ranked higher anyway.
Second, even if I received a little less from BLS, my impression (from speaking to attorneys) is that BLS is more prestigious than St Johns-not by a huge amount, but still different.

No offense, but this is untrue. BLS, SJU and Dozo are all thought of as the same.. They might be a hair above Hofstra, pace and touro, but thats about it..

reasonable_man wrote:

dreman510 wrote:

groundkontrol wrote:Why BLS over St. John's?

First of all, I got a stipend from BLS, and not St Johns, so it was a clear choice, as BLS is ranked higher anyway.
Second, even if I received a little less from BLS, my impression (from speaking to attorneys) is that BLS is more prestigious than St Johns-not by a huge amount, but still different.

No offense, but this is untrue. BLS, SJU and Dozo are all thought of as the same.. They might be a hair above Hofstra, pace and touro, but thats about it..

I am not the ultimate authority, I never did a NALP search or anything, but I spoke to attorneys who went to both of them, as well as better schools, and that is what they told me. Again, the difference is not much, if there is one.
Also, I would say more than a hair above Hofstra, and a full wig above Pace and Touro

Sorry friend.. I'll give you the wig above Touro and maybe even pace.. But the hof is right there with ya.

Since OS enjoys this anyway.... Here are the rankings in the real world:

HYS>T6>T10>T14>T20 (and Fordham GW, etc)>All other ABA Approved Law schools>Katherine Gibbs paralegal certificate>McDonald's Manager>Cooley>McDonald's associate>Non-ABA Approved LS>Graduate from NY Area Non T6LS with anythin less than half scholarship.

Thats it.

reasonable_man wrote:Sorry friend.. I'll give you the wig above Touro and maybe even pace.. But the hof is right there with ya.

Since OS enjoys this anyway.... Here are the rankings in the real world:

HYS>T6>T10>T14>T20 (and Fordham GW, etc)>All other ABA Approved Law schools>Katherine Gibbs paralegal certificate>McDonald's Manager>Cooley>McDonald's associate>Non-ABA Approved LS>Graduate from NY Area Non T6LS with anythin less than half scholarship.

Thats it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Mayor McCheese was guilty of sending inflated numbers to USNews?

Mr. Matlock wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Sorry friend.. I'll give you the wig above Touro and maybe even pace.. But the hof is right there with ya.

Since OS enjoys this anyway.... Here are the rankings in the real world:

HYS>T6>T10>T14>T20 (and Fordham GW, etc)>All other ABA Approved Law schools>Katherine Gibbs paralegal certificate>McDonald's Manager>Cooley>McDonald's associate>Non-ABA Approved LS>Graduate from NY Area Non T6LS with anythin less than half scholarship.

Thats it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Mayor McCheese was guilty of sending inflated numbers to USNews?

Brooklyn is the master at cooking the books.. Rankings, graduate earnings, employment rates... you name it..

reasonable_man wrote:

Mr. Matlock wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Sorry friend.. I'll give you the wig above Touro and maybe even pace.. But the hof is right there with ya.

Since OS enjoys this anyway.... Here are the rankings in the real world:

HYS>T6>T10>T14>T20 (and Fordham GW, etc)>All other ABA Approved Law schools>Katherine Gibbs paralegal certificate>McDonald's Manager>Cooley>McDonald's associate>Non-ABA Approved LS>Graduate from NY Area Non T6LS with anythin less than half scholarship.

Thats it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Mayor McCheese was guilty of sending inflated numbers to USNews?

Brooklyn is the master at cooking the books.. Rankings, graduate earnings, employment rates... you name it..

Its absurd to compare tuoro with BLS, St Johns, even Hofstra. You don't have to be a lawyer, or even a law school applicant, to have an accurate picture of what schools are more reputable than others. Anyone in New York City and the surrounding areas knows that these schools are better than Tuoro, and more, better than the average law schoo. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support this, but I won't site all the examples I've seen where people graduate from these schools and get find jobs, some making close to or over 100k and others securing more than respectable clerkships, ADA posts, or other public jobs. Putting down any school outside the top 30 is not only a waste of time (because people will keep attending other schools, keep getting decent and good jobs, and keep telling people about their school/job that followed). Its one thing to warn people of the debt theyll take on for a less than amazing school, but if someone is bright enough to attend, and wants to attend, they should go.

reasonable_man wrote:Sorry friend.. I'll give you the wig above Touro and maybe even pace.. But the hof is right there with ya.

Since OS enjoys this anyway.... Here are the rankings in the real world:

HYS>T6>T10>T14>T20 (and Fordham GW, etc)>All other ABA Approved Law schools>Katherine Gibbs paralegal certificate>McDonald's Manager>Cooley>McDonald's associate>Non-ABA Approved LS>Graduate from NY Area Non T6LS with anythin less than half scholarship.

Thats it.

Do you have a more detailed ranking list?

OP, congratulations on winning a great scholarship.

hank44 wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:

Mr. Matlock wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Sorry friend.. I'll give you the wig above Touro and maybe even pace.. But the hof is right there with ya.

Since OS enjoys this anyway.... Here are the rankings in the real world:

HYS>T6>T10>T14>T20 (and Fordham GW, etc)>All other ABA Approved Law schools>Katherine Gibbs paralegal certificate>McDonald's Manager>Cooley>McDonald's associate>Non-ABA Approved LS>Graduate from NY Area Non T6LS with anythin less than half scholarship.

Thats it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Mayor McCheese was guilty of sending inflated numbers to USNews?

Brooklyn is the master at cooking the books.. Rankings, graduate earnings, employment rates... you name it..

Its absurd to compare tuoro with BLS, St Johns, even Hofstra. You don't have to be a lawyer, or even a law school applicant, to have an accurate picture of what schools are more reputable than others. Anyone in New York City and the surrounding areas knows that these schools are better than Tuoro, and more, better than the average law schoo. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support this, but I won't site all the examples I've seen where people graduate from these schools and get find jobs, some making close to or over 100k and others securing more than respectable clerkships, ADA posts, or other public jobs. Putting down any school outside the top 30 is not only a waste of time (because people will keep attending other schools, keep getting decent and good jobs, and keep telling people about their school/job that followed). Its one thing to warn people of the debt theyll take on for a less than amazing school, but if someone is bright enough to attend, and wants to attend, they should go.

Gee willikers hank... You really put me in my place!!!

chewdak wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Sorry friend.. I'll give you the wig above Touro and maybe even pace.. But the hof is right there with ya.

Since OS enjoys this anyway.... Here are the rankings in the real world:

HYS>T6>T10>T14>T20 (and Fordham GW, etc)>All other ABA Approved Law schools>Katherine Gibbs paralegal certificate>McDonald's Manager>Cooley>McDonald's associate>Non-ABA Approved LS>Graduate from NY Area Non T6LS with anythin less than half scholarship.

Thats it.

Do you have a more detailed ranking list?

OP, congratulations on winning a great scholarship.

Nope... In the real world, this is essentially the one that is followed. I should have prefaced this by saying.. I attended one of the "all other ABA approved law schools." I'm not putting them down.. But it is what it is...